Alex Rins and Alex Marquez made a good start to proceedings at the Indianapolis Grand Prix, which marks a return to work after a month without Moto3 action. The Repsol riders were strong right from the start, as Marquez set the third fastest time of the day, just one tenth off Maverick Viñales in first place and 0.068s behind second placed Romano Fenati. Teammate Rins finished fifth, 0.307s back, after riding at a good pace alone.

Rins was amongst the fastest in the first free practice session for the Indianapolis Grand Prix, which was interrupted by light rainfall. That came 15 minutes from the end and although the asphalt quickly dried the standings remained the same. Rins stayed third and his teammate eighth, as Jonas Folger topped the timesheet.

In the second session, with more rubber laid on the track, times dropped consistently until after 18 laps Marquez stopped the clock at 1’48.609. That was the third fastest time of the afternoon. Rins, the winner of the last race, took the fifth quickest time of 1’48.809 on his seventeenth lap.

Alex Rins

FP1 - 1:51.250, 11 laps, 46 km.

FP2 - 1:48.809, 17 laps, 72 km.

“After the summer break, in these two sessions we have done quite well.I rode the two sessions alone with used tyres and it seems that I have a good pace, although the grip of the track still has some way to improve before the day of the race. I think we're doing a good job and we just lack a clean lap with new tyres. We have certain aspects of the bike to refine, but we have a good base."

Alex Marquez

FP1 - 1:52.040, 10 laps, 42 km.

FP2 - 1:48.609, 18 laps, 76 km.

“I'm very happy with today's practice sessions. I found a good feeling on the bike again, and this is sometimes difficult after a break like we had this summer. Now the process has been faster than in the past. Tomorrow we have to continue to adapt the bike to the track, because it is a unique circuit. I'm happy because we have a good pace and clear ideas and we must continue in the same vein as today."

Difficult start for RW Racing GP

Getting started again after four weeks of holidays seemed a bit difficult for RW Racing GP riders Jakub Kornfeil and Jasper Iwema. On the first day at the illustrious Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the United States Kornfeil ended in 17th position, Iwema finished in 22nd.

In the morning in Indianapolis the free practice was interrupted by light rain, keeping most riders in the garage for a while. Jasper Iwema was one of the few who went out in the last few minutes to see how the track reacted on the drizzle. Iwema didn’t improve his lap time under these circumstances and remained in 18th position at the end of the session. Jakub Kornfeil was 20th.

In the afternoon session (19.10 – 19.50 Central European Time) both riders almost immediately improved their lap times but both had difficulties finding the speed during the session. Iwema came in a few times to work on the settings and ran out of time in the final part of the session, going out again with only five minutes left.

Kornfeil finished the session in 17th with a lap time of 1.50.141. Iwema ended in 22nd position with 1.50.906. Fastest man of the track was Maverick Viñales in 1.48.502.

RW Racing GP team manager Jarno Janssen was not pleased at all with the results of his riders. "This is just not good enough. Jakub should be in or at least near the top 10, Jasper should be in the top 16. The material cannot be the excuse when you look at where the other Kalex KTM bikes are. Besides that: the perfect bike doesn’t exist. As a rider you have to be clever enough to ride a bike that is at 80 percent. It’s better to ride it when it is not perfect than lose a lot of time with trying to find a solution during practice. You only have 40 minutes time to ride, but all day to make changes. We’ll see what the problem was and do all we can to have a better result tomorrow.’’

Positive start for Red Bull KTM Ajo at Indianapolis

Luis Salom, Arthur Sissis and Zulfahmi Khairuddin conclude the first day of the GP weekend with seventh, ninth and eleventh fastest times of the day, respectively.

16/08/2013 - Indianapolis Motor Speedway

The Red Bull KTM Ajo riders were back on their Moto3 machines this Friday after four weeks without a Grand Prix. The ninth round of the year began at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a first free practice session hit by the rain. In the second runout, the weather was somewhat better, and Luis Salom, Arthur Sissis and Zulfahmi Khairuddin were able to lower their times and improve setups for their KTM bikes.

The first contact with American track was not what the riders had hoped. With 17 minutes to go in the first practice session, light rain forced the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders to return to the garage just when they were recovering a feel for their bikes from the 10 laps undertaken. Despite improving conditions in the final minutes, Arthur Sissis ─tenth─, Zulfahmi Khairuddin ─twelfth─ and Luis Salom ─fifteenth─ preferred not to risk things at a circuit with three different asphalts and grip which greatly improves over the course of the weekend.

Keen to make the most of the next 40 minutes of practice, Salom and Sissis were amongst the top ten from the early stages of the second session onwards. All three Red Bull KTM Ajo riders needed only the first half of the session to reduce the times from the morning. In the end, Luis Salom ─with a time of 1:48.975─ achieved the seventh fastest time of the day, Arthur Sissis was ninth ─1:49.334─, and eleventh quickest ─1:49.533─ was Zulfahmi Khairuddin.

Tomorrow’s action will start from 9.00am, the final free practice before qualifying at 12:35pm. Last year, Luis Salom and Zulfahmi Khairuddin both started from the second row of the grid.

Results (Combined practice time FP1-FP2)

1. Maverick Viñales (KTM) 1:48.502

2. Romano Fenati (FTR Honda) 1:48.541 +0.039

3. Alex Marquez (KTM) 1:48.609 +0.107

4. Jack Miller (FTR Honda) 1:48.626 +0.124

5. Alex Rins (KTM) 1:48.809 +0.307

7. Luis Salom (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:48.975 +0.473

9. Arthur Sissis (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:49.334 +0.832

11. Zulfahmi Khairuddin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 1:49.553 +1.031

Luis Salom

"We started the Grand Prix with a bit of a difficult first session, because in the first few minutes we noticed that we had to make some setup changes. Later it started to rain and we could no longer make the most of the first session. In the afternoon things went better, the feeling was good and although we have to improve a bit, overall I'm happy with how the day went."

Arthur Sissis

"It was a pretty good first day to the Grand Prix. In the morning practice session I was amongst the top ten from the start and feeling good. It's a pity that it started to rain and we lost about fifteen minutes of the session. In the last two minutes, it looked like the track was better, but we decided not to go back out..

In the second session, we continued the work begun in the morning run and we managed to go faster. The feeling was again good and we remained in the top ten.

To begin the weekend as one of the ten fastest riders is a good start, so hopefully I can continue to progress tomorrow."

Zulfahmi Khairuddin

"This first day went really well for me. I did a very good job with the team, getting a good pace up quickly and easily finding a good feeling on this difficult track. The final position may not be fantastic, but we are not far away from the leading group. I think we can improve tomorrow."

FREE PRACTICE GETS UNDERWAY AT LEGENDARY INDIANAPOLIS

Team GO & Fun Gresini Moto3 returned to action today following a month's summer break with the first day of free practice at the Indianapolis Grand Prix. Niccolò Antonelli showed good pace but struggled w ith the harder tyre and suffered a crash that did not help his cause. Lorenzo Baldassarri made good progress from the first to the second session and after building his confidence with the track he is looking forward to getting back out there tomorrow.

Niccolò Antonelli (18th 1’ 50” 368) “It was a shame about the crash but I didn't feel comfortable on the harder tyres. On the softer compound it was a completely different story and I was running seventh fastest until we switched. Overall the bike is not too bad and I think we can improve it tomorrow to be in better shape for Sunday's race. We still have work to do but we are on the right lines and we have gathered a lot of data today that we can work from tonight.”

Lorenzo Baldassarri (21st 1’ 50” 761) “We have made a lot of progress from the morning to the afternoon and overall it hasn't been a bad day. We are struggling a little bit down the straight and on corner exit but I am sure we can improve tomorrow and make up some positions. I spent most of the day riding alone and that's not totally beneficial around this track.”

Fausto Gresini “Niccolò Antonelli was doing a good job and then on the harder tyre he struggled. It is not too much of a worry though and I am sure he will be competitive tomorrow. Baldassarri overcame a difficult start but gradually he learnt the track and improved. Unfortunately he didn't manage to get involved with a group of other riders so that didn't help him learn the track but overall I am confident about tomorrow.”

MAPFRE ASPAR RIDERS BACK IN THE GROOVE AFTER SUMMER BREAK

Jonas Folger and Eric Granado satisfied with opening day's work at the Brickyard

The summer break officially ended for the MotoGP teams and riders today as the first free practice sessions for the Indianapolis Grand Prix took place at the legendary American circuit. With temperatures around 20ºC the conditions were ideal and the Moto3 riders were already able to improve on the pace from last year, with Maverick Viñales clocking the fastest lap of the day with a 1'48.502 after a session that saw Jonas Folger, Alex Rins and Jack Miller also leading the timesheets.

One year on from his debut here with the MAPFRE Aspar Team Jonas Folger set the pace in the opening session this morning and put up a strong challenge in the afternoon only to be shuffled back to sixth place in the final couple of minutes. However, the German and his Brazilian team-mate Eric Granado were both satisfied with their day's work and with their prospects ahead of Sunday's race.

6th Jonas Folger 1.48.892 (27 laps): “My first impressions of the bike and track this morning were fantastic and as the day progressed we were able to move forward by making a series of small changes to the set-up. We were hoping to take another big step this afternoon but probably changed too much and ended up with the rear suspension being too high so we had to take a step backwards. Even so we are happy with the work we've done, it has been a positive starts and we know we can improve tomorrow.”

20th Eric Granado 1.50.536 (29 laps): “I felt good from early in the session this morning and I was comfortable this afternoon too, even though the position might not reflect that. I rode on my own for the whole session and focused on my race pace. I have arrived here with a bit of a cold but I am going to rest up now and make sure I am fit for tomorrow. I want to prepare well and make sure we get a good place on the starting grid so we can go into the race feeling calm. This afternoon we made a change to the geometry of the bike and knocked a couple of seconds off, so that was a breakthrough. Tomorrow we'll keep working in the same way because the bike feels good.”

Niklas Ajo returns to work in good form

Avant Tecno KTM rider amongst top 15 on first day of Indianapolis Grand Prix.

16/08/2013 - Indianapolis Motor Speedway

The legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway played host to the return to work of Niklas Ajo. The young Avant Tecno KTM rider ended the opening day of action satisfied with the fourteenth fastest time –1:49.893– of the day. This first day was affected by rainfall in the first session, which ruled out over a quarter of an hour of practice.

Niklas Ajo showed from the first minute of the morning free practice session his desire to get back out on track. He led the provisional timetable in the opening minutes. Track time was interrupted with 17 minutes remaining, when a fine rain fell on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and forced riders into the pits. In the end, Avant Tecno KTM rider completed the first free practice session of the weekend in sixteenth position, with a time of 1:52.734 from 9 laps.

In the second session of the day, Niklas Ajo took an important step forward. The Finn found a better configuration for his bike and, on his fourteenth lap, managed to reduce his best morning time by nearly three seconds. That brought him under the 1’50 mark and his 1’49.893 lap was the fourteenth fastest time in the combined standings for the day.

The ninth round of the year in the Moto3 class continues tomorrow with the final free practice run and the qualifying session. Niklas Ajo will try to improve on the eighth row start he took at Indianapolis last year.

Results (Combined practice time FP1-FP2)

1. Maverick Viñales (KTM) 1:48.502

2. Romano Fenati (FTR Honda) 1:48.541 +0.039

3. Alex Marquez (KTM) 1:48.609 +0.107

4. Jack Miller (FTR Honda) 1:48.626 +0.124

5. Alex Rins (KTM) 1:48.809 +0.307

14. Niklas Ajo (Avant Tecno KTM) 1:49.893 +1.391

Niklas Ajo

"The first day in Indianapolis has been quite satisfactory. The only difficulty we've had has been with the rear grip, but I am confident that we can find a solution and improve the feeling on the bike. In every other respect I am happy how the first day after the summer break went."

MotoGP Moto3 - San Carlo Team Italia in second position in Indianapolis

Positive start for Romano Fenati in the first day of practice, while Bagnaia learns a new track and closes in 32nd position

With a sticker dedicated to the late Andrea Antonelli, who was runner up in the Stock600 championship with Team Italia in 2007, the young riders showed constant growth in their first day in Indianapolis.

Romano Fenati (San Carlo Team Italia FMI FTR Honda#5) took over four seconds off in between sessions, posting the second best time and leading the Honda-FTR crew, only 0.039 behind Maverick Viñales, provisional poleman with a 1'48.502.

Francesco Bagnaia (San Carlo Team Italia FMI FTR Honda#4) studied the technical and atypical track where he is debuting. The Italian progressively improved and posted the 32nd time.

Romano Fenati (San Carlo Team Italia FMI FTR Honda#5), 2nd, 1'48.541

"We found a good setup today, which allows us to make up for the lost ground in the straight with great cornering speed. The bike is still suffering the bumps, so we have to improve the suspension setting tomorrow. We have to stay focused, and we can have a positive QP tomorrow."

"The track is beautiful but complicated. I'm still learning its secrets, but I couldn't lap behind the fast riders so I suffered more than usual. I have to improve cornering and front-end feeling especially, but I have time to do that."

Roberto Locatelli (FMI Technical Coordinator)

"It's been a great first day, not only for Romano's position but for the way he found competitiveness, after searching the best setup with a used tire. With Pecco we still have some details to sort out, he struggled on a new track but looking at Romano's data he can improve. We have to push in this direction, our goal is to qualify in the top two rows."

PRADITA GETS TO GRIPS WITH INDY

Doni Tata Pradita is looking forward to the second day of free practice and qualifying at the Indianapolis Grand Prix tomorrow after making a positive start today. The Indonesian rider has found a good feeling with his bike around the legendary circuit and with the help of his team he is confident he can make more progress tomorrow.

Doni Tata Pradita (30th 1’ 47” 306) “I thought I would struggle more at this circuit but by the end of the day I had a good feeling for the track and the bike. I am sure we can improve more tomorrow and prepare well for Sunday's race.”

Fausto Gresini “After his struggles at Sachsenring Doni has got back on the pace here at a difficult track. Now he has learnt the layout he can concentrate on improving the set-up of his bike and his overall position.”

WAROKORN MAKES POSITIVE START TO LIFE IN MOTO2 AT INDY

Thitipong Warokorn completed his first free practice sessions in the Moto2 World Championship at the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway after stepping in to replace Ratthapark Wilairot at Team Federal Oil Gre sini Moto2. Despite riding the Suter machine for the first time and at a circuit he had never visited before the Thai rider was impressive, laying solid foundations ahead of tomorrow's final free practice and qualifying sessions.

Thitipong Warokorn (31st 1’ 47” 621) “I am satisfied with my debut and I have to say I thought we would struggle more than this. After some initial teething problems I was able to build my confidence and gradually improve. 'Feem' has also been great in helping me communicate with the mechanics and I am confident we can do more tomorrow.”

Fausto Gresini “Warokorn has been a pleasant surprise and I think he has shown today he has potential. Everything is new to him but he has found pace and confidence around this track today so no doubt he will improve further tomorrow.”

Redding returns in hot form at world famous Indianapolis

Indianapolis, USA - 16 August 2013: Moto2 World Championship leader Scott Redding wasted no time in returning to fast form after the four-week summer break to set the second best time at the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway today.

The Marc VDS Racing rider blew off a few cobwebs on his first ride on the Kalex machine since Germany's Sachsenring clash in mid-July, the British rider finishing ninth quickest in cool and overcast conditions in this morning's FP1.

Firmly back in race mode for this afternoon's second session, Redding took full advantage of warmer conditions that offered more grip on the unpredictable Indianapolis surface to finish in second position. A best time of 1.43.977 was only 0.294s off the fastest time set by Simone Corsi and a huge improvement of almost 1.3s between sessions.

Finnish teammate Mika Kallio also enjoyed a positive return to action today and he was 10th quickest on combined times having immediately found a comfortable set-up with his Kalex machine.

He set his best lap time of 1.44.573 on a front tyre which had over 30 laps already completed on it in a successful endurance test and he is optimistic he can be challenging for a top six position in tomorrow's qualifying session.

A short rain shower during this morning's opening Moto3 practice session was the last thing teenage Belgian rider Livio Loi needed while trying to learn the 2.620 miles Brickyard layout, which is notorious for its unpredictable grip in dry and wet conditions.

On a dry but slippery surface this afternoon, Loi was able to lap a massive 4.1s faster, the 16-year-old surging five places up the rankings to 19th with a pace of 1.50.480 that bodes well for a strong challenge in Sunday's 23-lap race.

Scott Redding #45: 2nd - 1.43.977

"This morning wasn't so good and I didn't really feel comfortable with the bike. I've only been riding motocross and supermoto bikes since Germany so it felt a bit strange coming back to the Moto2 bike. I just decided to take it easy but I still wasn't so far off the pace and this afternoon I was more in my normal strong mindset and I felt much more comfortable. The lap times were coming relatively easily and I was happy with my consistency. This is a very important phase of the Championship with three races in a row and I am just concentrating on collecting as many points as I can."

Mika Kallio #36: 10th - 1.44.573

"I am in 10th position which isn't a fantastic result but I am happy with my feeling on the bike. I think we have found a good set-up but in the last exit of FP2 when most of the field were able to go quicker, we made some changes to the front suspension and also tried a different front tyre and unfortunately it was the wrong direction. That's why I'm a bit further back than I'd like to be but still the gap to the front is not so big and I am confident I can be faster and higher up tomorrow."

Livio Loi #11: 19th - 1.50.480

"Today was all about learning the track and I only stopped once in both sessions to make as many laps as possible. The rain this morning didn't help and cost me some time on track but I am happy with my performance, even though we can make improvements to the turning of the bike tomorrow because I run wide in a few places. I like the circuit although it is quite bumpy and it is not easy to understand the grip with the different sections of asphalt. You get used to the grip in one section and then the asphalt changes but to finish 19th on my first day is positive and I am looking forward to the rest of the weekend."

Michael Bartholemy - Team Principal

"Today was a good way to return to action with Scott very competitive this afternoon and Mika also riding very well. Scott was very consistent and this is the most important thing because it means he is preparing well to be in the best shape for Sunday's race. Mika wasn't so far off the pace of the top three and he seems very happy with the bike, so if he can find some more improvements I am very confident he will be competitive. Livio did a very solid job today and the most important thing for him was to build up his experience of a difficult track to learn with the changing track surface. He got up to 14th at one stage this afternoon and I am sure with more laps under his belt he can perform well this weekend."

Nico Terol and Jordi Torres looking for more grip and handling after day one at the Brickyard

Moto2 World Championship action resumed following the summer break at Indianapolis today, where Takaaki Nakagami led the opening session on a cool and slippery surface this morning. Conditions improved in the afternoon and lap times tumbled as a result, with Simon Corsi making a late charge for top spot ahead of Scott Redding following a heavy fall for the British rider's principal current rival for the title Pol Espargaró, who escaped unhurt.

MAPFRE Aspar rider Nico Terol was one of the most consistent riders on track, the Spanish rider lapping constantly at the top end of the timesheets before finishing seventh overall in a hectic finish that resembled a qualifying session rather than free practice. Jordi Torres arrived at Indianapolis knowing that it wouldn't be an easy weekend for him and so it proved today, although that did nothing to stop him from working hard and after tirelessly clocking up no less than 42 laps the rookie finished up with the sixteenth fastest time of the day.

7th Nico Terol 1.44.283 (37 laps): “We have had two good sessions here at Indianapolis today. We were able to get back into the groove after the summer break and I felt confident on the bike from the start this morning. We have been constantly on the pace all day and seventh place is satisfactory, especially because we have a good feeling with the bike. I am satisfied with the work we did looking towards the race and feel confident about the rest of the weekend. We just need to find some more grip in two corners in particular and keep working on the front end of the bike. If I can enjoy myself tomorrow as much as I have today then I am sure we will end up with a good grid position.”

16th Jordi Torres 1.44.731 (42 vueltas): “We knew we were going to struggle to get the bike set up here more than we did at Sachsenring because it is a completely different kind of circuit but we have come here prepared to work hard and that's the most important thing. The bike is working really well at full lean but we're having trouble getting it turned. It is a strange circuit, especially because of the surface, but we need to get better torsion from the bike without having to lean it over so far. We went the wrong way a little this afternoon but we will change things tomorrow and take it from there. So far I am satisfied with our first day of work here.”